Tuesday, January 19, 2010

RIP, Robert B. Parker

Author Robert B. Parker, the dean of American detective fiction, has died at age 77. Parker wrote many books, but his most popular creation was Spenser, a wise cracking Boston private detective. He also wrote a series of Westerns, novels about police chief Jesse Stone and female private eye Sunny Randall, as well as a novel depicting a fictional bodyguard working to protect Jackie Robinson in 1947.

I've read Parker for a long, long time-25 years at least. I have read nearly all of his books-all of the Spenser books, save that I haven't read the most recent, plus there are two more coming, according to the publisher. For me, he is one of the few who completely captures a male voice and a male perspective. As tough as Spenser has to be, he has genuine regrets and insecurities, and Parker writes like a dream-lean, tough, beautiful prose, with just enough detail. I have written papers on Parker in both high school and college, and I feel like I have internalized parts of Spenser like few fictional characters I have ever encountered.

Parker's departure, though certainly no surprise at age 77, leaves a void in my mental life. His voice will be missed.

2 comments:

  1. Guess I'd better look for these books.

    ReplyDelete
  2. He's special. As long as you like mysteries, and a rather sparse prose style(a la Cormac McCarthy or Hemingway) , you'll love him.

    ReplyDelete

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